The Gate to Tomorrow
by theREALvampires
Summary: **FEMALE VINCENT** YURI. Valorie Valentine is hired by ShinRa Manufacturing as a member of the Turks. When the president starts to seek world domination and Valorie's identity is revealed she fights to protect the one she loves.


So I know that the last time I wrote an FF7 fanfic I sort of gave up on it and took it off because I was embarrassed at how dumb it sounded. And I didn't plan it out very well. But this one I intend to stick to! Really! Anyways, I am going to try to get most of this on paper first so I can update more quickly once I get going.

**Important information: **The main character IS Vincent, just... well... he's a girl. So as far as looks, personality, and belonging to Square he's-she's-the same. Yes this will be yuri. Don't like it, don't read it. ...and all the characters belong to Square blah blah blah... except the ones I make up ^.^

I know this is a weird idea... but give it a chance ^~^"" oh, and it starts off kinda awkward, but it gets better-I promise! x~x"

* * *

Chapter 1: **Exam  
**

Valorie stood at attention in a dark, concrete-walled room. Her hair was cut short, and she wore a black suit that fit her loosely. She had a thin frame, and her chest wasn't very large, so she pulled off the male look quite nicely. She had even assumed the false name "Vincent"; her own name was too obviously feminine, and The Academy was exclusively for men.

She was lined up against the wall with other trainees that had made it this far. There had been at least 80 of them to begin with but now there were only ten. The others either failed the exercises, were too injured to continue, or were killed. She had spent three years in The Academy and was finally finishing the last of her training. The instructor paced back and forth in front of them, barking out orders for their warm-up exercise before the final test. For the warm-up, they were to clear all of the assigned targets in a room without damaging the other targets, in one minute. The instructor paused for a second and pressed a button on his small remote. Ten large, cubicle-shaped dividers slid down from the ceiling, five on each side of the room, forming a corridor down the middle. The instructor ordered all of the trainees to stand in front of a door. "You have one minute. Go," he said, and everyone opened their door and stepped inside.

Valorie's room, like all the others, was designed to look like an inner-city street corner. It had a low wall over on one side, a couple store fronts with large windows, and the side half of the first three stories of an office building. She took in all of her surroundings in a quick glance. The room was also packed with at least 200 holographic people; probably about ten of them were the targets. First task; get the hit list. She walked across the room, looking for the person who would have the list. Valorie quickly spotted him standing at the corner of one of the store fronts. Striding up to him, she took the paper that he held in his hand-this "person" was not a hologram, but a mannequin, dressed in a dark suit similar to Valorie's. She shoved the list into her pocket, then made her way over to the office building. She stepped into the door and looked around for the stairs leading to the upper floors. To her left. She walked over to them, then once the door closed she darted up them to the third floor. When she got to the door she looked around for cameras, found none, and pulled the list out of her pocket. She looked over it and memorized the features of the targets. There were only six of them, so this would be slightly easier than she had thought. She folded the list again and pulled a small lighter out of her pocket. She held the paper over the flame until it caught then dropped it on the floor an let it burn. Then she walked out into a deserted hallway. There was a single surveillance camera at the end of the hall. Valorie pulled her 9mm out of her concealed shoulder holster and fired once, destroying the camera. The hallway had three windows overlooking the city scene so she went over to the nearest one and opened it just enough to shoot through.

She checked her watch. Twenty seconds remain.

Valorie crouched to look through the scope on her pistol. She looked over the crowd and found the targets.

Ten seconds.

_BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG  
_

She stood quickly and picked up the shells off the floor.

Five seconds.

She leapt down the stairs and bolted out of the building.

Three.

She sprinted to the exit door.

Two.

She turned the knob.

One.

And went through the door, slamming it closed behind her.

Zero.

Valorie felt intense heat behind her as each room was torched on the inside. She looked around for the other trainees; two were missing. They had failed the exercise, she realized, and were now reduced to piles of ash. Valorie exhaled slowly. If that was the warm-up, then the actual test... _No, it's better not to think about it._

The rooms receded back into the ceiling and the eight remaining trainees were ordered to line up against the wall where they had started. An assortment of pillars, stairs, and simple building-like structures came out of the floor and ceiling, turning their large training area into a bleak, gray, city-like scene.

Their instructor stood facing them and looked slowly down the line as he began to speak.

"You have endured these past years of training, some more than others," he looked pointedly at a couple of them. "However, only the _best _of you will graduate from The Academy. We do not sell a second-rate product. Our clients will not settle for someone like those who fail the preliminary exercises. That is why this last test will be the most difficult yet." He walked over to the wall on his left and took a canvas bag of magazines for their guns off of a hook in the wall. "This exam will test everything you have learned thus far," the instructor said as he passed out an extra magazine to each of them, "so you will use melee techniques and weapons other than your guns to pass the test. Although, it is not _required _that you do so." He finished passing out magazines and slung the bag over his shoulder. Then he turned to face all of them. "I will be observing this exam from another room. You can all choose your own starting positions anywhere in the area. Choose a spot and I will finish instructing you over the intercom."

"Yes sir!" Valorie and the others said and headed to various places in the room. Valorie found a decent location in the second floor of one of the the building-like structures. There were several possible exits and few blind spots. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. She had a feeling she knew what this test was going to be and her heart was racing.

"This test has but one rule," the instructor's voice crackled over the intercom. "Be the last man standing. Begin." The overhead lights dimmed and they were left in darkness and silence.

Valorie's breath caught in her throat. She had known that this day would come sooner or later; she would have to kill someone, even if they had done nothing. But she had not expected it to be her own classmates. She slowly opened her eyes as she exhaled, letting all of these thoughts and emotions drain out of her. From this point on, doubt, fear, regret, all of these hesitant emotions would only get her killed, she grimly realized.

She pulled out her pistol and held it down in a ready position as she walked silently towards the room's window. Looking down, she saw nothing so she was about to turn around when she heard a slight shuffling sound below and to her right. She squinted into the shadows and could just make out someone hiding around a corner. She cautiously brought her gun up and aimed carefully._ BANG. _She heard her classmate grunt in pain; she had probably hit him in the shoulder. Valorie didn't have much time to think about it though, because a few seconds later another shot went off nearby, and another, and another. Everyone seemed to be homing in on where the others were shooting from.

She immediately moved back form the window and headed to the stairs, being careful to go quietly even though the sounds of gunshots reverberated through the room. Valorie vaulted down the two flights of stairs, landing with only a soft tap at the bottom of each. She quickly side-stepped over to the doorway and peered carefully out. Seeing and hearing nothing nearby, she darted across the gap between the building she was just in and one of the other structures. She slipped into a narrow gap between that structure and another as she heard someone running towards her. Valorie carefully backed further into the gap, raising her pistol and lining the sight up with where the person would run past. _Judging by their speed and distance_, she thought as she tightened her grip,_ they will cross my line of fire in three... two... one..._She fired just as her classmate came into view, hitting him in the chest. He cried out in surprise and pain as he fell down, blood gushing from a certainly fatal wound. Valorie slowly lowered her 9mm and stepped towards the prone, bleeding figure before her. A pool of blood was spreading slowly around him, soaking the concrete with a dark stain. The shot had gone right through his back, leaving an even larger wound in its wake. He had not died instantly, however, and he slowly tried to raise his own pistol to shoot Valorie. She realized this and brought her pistol back up. Carefully taking aim so as not to waste bullets, she fired once right into his skull. More of his blood splattered onto the wall directly across from where Valorie stood. For a few seconds she didn't move; the realization of what was to come settling over her like a storm cloud.

She didn't have long to ponder this though, as she noticed movement from a building to her left. She quickly stepped backwards into the shadows before turning the other way and running. The narrow path between the two structures ended in front of another building, giving Valorie a direct line into the doorway of that building. She slowed a little and checked for any signs of her classmates, then darted into the building.

Valorie did a quick 360 to see if anyone was in the room, then crouched to reload. The guns they were given were small, and one magazine could only hold ten shots; six of which she had used in the warm-up, so she only had one shot left on that magazine. She grabbed the spare magazine off a clip on her belt. She also had the knives that they were provided with clipped to her belt; they had been given one 11" knife for close combat, and a pair of 5" throwing knives. She ejected the spent magazine and slid the new one into place with a _click_.

Standing again, she looked out the window in the wall to the right of the door. The room offered no adequate vantage points, so she decided to find a higher position. There were no stairs in the room Valorie had entered, so she would need to go to another building and find a way up. She withdrew from the window and walked back to the door to make sure she hadn't been followed, then proceeded down the corridor to the left.

There was another door on her right a little ways ahead, which she jogged over to. Checking her surroundings once again, she ducked into the doorway and listened for anyone else in the building. She heard nothing, and so proceeded up the stairs to her left. She briefly checked the second floor then went up to the third floor, where she intended to wait for someone to come to her. However, as she ascended the top step someone threw a knife at her. Instinctively, Valorie brought up her left arm to block it and reached for her gun. The blade buried itself deep in her forearm. She stumbled back and let her arm fall to her side as pain shot through her arm. Recovering quickly, she aimed at her attacker and fired once, her now unsteady aim making her miss and hit him in the shoulder. He retaliated with his other throwing knife-which Valorie dodged this time, firing at him twice more. One shot missed completely, the other hit him in the stomach. He doubled over and slumped back against the wall, clutching his middle. Valorie took a couple steps towards him, keeping her 9mm trained on his head. She stopped a couple feet in front of him. From how badly injured he was, she wondered if she even needed to waste another bullet on him.

Her classmate slowly raised his head, looking Valorie directly in the eyes. He had a pleading, desperate look in his eyes. Valorie didn't flinch. She readjusted her aim and pulled the trigger. Blood spattered all around. The body slumped over onto the floor with a soft thud.

She holstered her pistol and looked at her left arm, which was starting to go numb. Gritting her teeth, she gripped the handle of the knife that was stuck in her arm and yanked it out. She tossed the knife away as fresh blood began flowing down her arm. She clutched her arm, trying to quell the sudden rush of pain. After a few seconds the pain was reduced to just throbbing and she released her grip on her forearm so she could bandage it. Reaching up, she grabbed the left shoulder of her jacket and ripped her sleeve off. She wrapped it around her arm a few times and tied it off as best she could. It wasn't much, but it at least stopped the bleeding.

She turned her attention to the window in the room. Slowly, she stepped over to it and peered out over the training area. She heard a gunshot from somewhere across the area; a few minutes later she heard another, closer. Valorie carefully brought her 9mm up and rested it on the windowsill, waiting for the last trainee to enter her line of sight.

Between the pain and the blood loss in her left arm, Valorie's breathing became a little unsteady and she was starting to get dizzy, but she had to stay conscious and alert so she could make it through the test. Pass out, and it would be all over.

There was a movement to her right a ways off, then footsteps coming from the same direction. She patiently waited until the last man entered her view, walking nervously towards the building she was in. Her vision was going blurry, but she steadied herself on the window as she took aim. She pulled the trigger and hoped she got a good shot off despite her current state. The consequent _thud_ suggested that she did so.

The lights came back on suddenly, signaling that the test was over. Valorie sank to the floor, breathing shakily as the instructor came over the loudspeaker.

"Congratulations, Vincent Valentine. You pass," he said. "The medic will be out to assist you shortly."

She breathed a slight sigh of relief and then passed out.

*+.+*+.+*+.+*

Valorie awoke with a start in The Academy's infirmary. She was laying in a bed all the way in the back of the room with the curtains drawn as usual. She had been in here once or twice before, and the doctor knew she was a girl; the kind young woman had been sympathetic however, and had agreed to keep her secret. She didn't even ask for her real name.

This doctor, Lucrecia, had already stitched the gash in Valorie's arm and bandaged it.

Lucrecia pulled back the curtain and smiled at Valorie.

"How's your arm, Vincent?" she asked brightly.

"Fine."

"Well, that's good," Lucrecia replied, again rather cheerily. But her smile soon faded and she sighed and sat on the chair next to Valorie's bed. "So today's your last day, huh...," she said sadly.

"Yes," Valorie responded quietly.

There was a bit of an awkward silence.

"I've heard that ShinRa has had their eye on you for a while now. They're recruiting more muscle for the Turks."

"..."

"It's good that you can get hired so quickly. ShinRa pays well. Lots of benefits, I hear. Especially for Turks," she added somewhat bitterly. "They're pretty high on the corporate food chain."

"Lucrecia..." Valorie said in a low warning tone.

"Of course, the Turks are only so important because they do whatever they're ordered to do without question. You can be bodyguard one minute and an assassin the next. If the President orders it, you might kill the very person you're guarding!"

"Lucrecia," Valorie said a little louder.

"They-!"

"Lucrecia!" Valorie shouted. Lucrecia snapped out of her rant and looked over at Valorie. She glanced away when she met Valorie's glare, her face turning bright red.

"...Um...I...um...well..." Lucrecia mumbled, fidgeting in her seat.

Valorie sighed slightly and looked down. "I should leave soon. They'll be expecting me this evening, correct?"

"Er, right... Um... I'll just go get you some new clothes." Lucrecia stood quickly and walked out of the room. She returned shortly with a neatly folded suit and placed it on the bed next to Valorie. "I'll go ahead and leave so you can change."

Lucrecia looked at Valorie's stoic face briefly then turned and walked out of the infirmary, awkwardly scratching the back of her head.

Valorie got up off the bed and took off her bloodstained and torn shirt, then her pants that had also been splattered with blood. Despite her small figure, she still bound her chest; Lucrecia had provided bandages for this purpose. Valorie unwound the bindings she was wearing and pulled out the clean ones from the stack of clothing Lucrecia brought. She re-wrapped her chest, taking care not to pull on the stitches in her arm, and put on the new shirt and pants. She shrugged on the jacket and folded her old clothes, then walked over to the door and knocked once. Lucrecia unlocked the door and opened it, taking Valorie's ruined uniform and tossing it in one of the trash bins. She had managed to compose herself in the minute or so that it took for Valorie to change clothes, and she gazed at her a moment with only sadness in her eyes, but said nothing as she turned and led Valorie through the maze of corridors that was The Academy.

She wasn't expected for at least another half hour so, for the time being, they waited in her room. Valorie said nothing and simply sat on the edge of her bed, while Lucrecia only looked more depressed. They passed the whole time like this, until finally someone knocked at the door and entered.

"Vincent Valentine?" he asked.

Valorie nodded.

"Follow me please." Valorie got up and walked towards the door, but stopped short when she felt Lucrecia's eyes on her. She turned and met her gaze, then realized it probably seemed odd to the man at the door that she would be in the room at all.

As if he had heard Valorie's thoughts, the man cleared his throat. "Ahem. Dr. Crescent," he said disdainfully, "might I ask, why are you here?"

Lucrecia let go of Valorie and quickly stepped away, looking at the floor. "Yes... I was just leaving," she said quietly. The man quirked his eyebrow at her, but said nothing further as she walked out of the room. He watched her go down the hall a bit then turned to Valorie again, nodded, and started off in the other direction. Valorie glanced in the direction that Lucrecia had gone, then followed the man.

*+.+*+.+*+.+*

The actual "graduation" from The Academy consisted of little more than a congratulatory remark from the administrator, a handshake, sitting in his office while he went through quite a lot of paperwork, sitting in his office some more while he discussed Valorie's performance and negotiated a price with the representative from ShinRa. Once they were finished, the two of them shook hands, then the representative led Valorie out of the office and out of the building.

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A/N  
Well, there's le first chapter. That took me a VERY long time to write... wah... If anyone has suggestions on stuff, they would be great ^^. Sorry about the general disjointedness and somewhat choppiness of this story, I tried! Anyway, thanks for reading my little violent child. *^_^* I intend to keep the same amount of gory detail in the next chapters where it is called for. I like details. Don't worry, there should be some more (read: better) humor etc. later on :). Also, this might eventually become a doujinshi, which will be much better (probably), since I think in pictures. I'll let you know how that goes...

Review to feed a hungry Yuffie! She needs cookies!


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